Brandon Aiyuk: 49ers have too much talent to score 23 points
The offense failed to come through on a day when the San Francisco 49ers defense needed some help. It couldn’t keep up with the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs, who scored 44 points compared to the Niners’ 23. That won’t cut it for a team that believes it is loaded with talent.
“We have to score,” wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk said Sunday after the game via a video posted by 95.7 The Game. “If we’ve got to score 45 points—obviously, it would have been the goal today. But we’ve got to do what we can to put points on the board. I just feel like we’ve got too many people that can change the game to score 23 points.
“People can ask about the defense, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to score more points than the other team. So that’s how I feel.”
Teammates praised Aiyuk for his showing in training camp. They felt he was primed for a breakout 2022 campaign. The team also has All-Pro talent in wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle. Last week, the 49ers added star running back Christian McCaffrey via a trade.
It’s the makings of a seemingly unstoppable offense. Unfortunately, the 49ers haven’t been able to deliver consistently.
The offense started hot, jumping to a 10-point lead over the Chiefs in the first quarter while running off head coach Kyle Shanahan’s scripted plays. After that, Kansas City outscored San Francisco 44-13.
The 49ers got within five in the third quarter, then again in the fourth quarter, but quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense didn’t take their foot off the gas, moving the football down the field at will and sealing the 44-23 rout.
Aiyuk finished the game with seven catches for 82 yards, one yard shy of matching his season high of 83 yards in Week 6.
“I think he keeps getting better each year,” Shanahan said of Aiyuk. “I think it was documented the work he put in this offseason, and it’s carrying over to the season. I think these last two weeks, I thought he had his best game versus Atlanta. Just from all the plays. I’ll see when we watch the tape here, but B.A. is continuing to get better.”
It just wasn’t enough on Sunday to overcome Mahomes and the Chiefs.
